If they do protest the Blazer v. Sonics ESPN game at the end of the season, I will drive the three hours from Portland to join them, even if I can't get a ticket, (which will be probable in a city as fervent as Seattle).

I remember holding my bladder while watching the '96 Finals, because I didn't want to miss the moment that the Sonics broke the Bulls if it came... and I'm a die hard Blazer fan.

I don't think I really understood exactly what was happening to the Sonics. But I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch the NBA without anger should the SOnics move, which is a shame since the Blazers have a chance at a championship soon.

How could David Stern allow a team that won a championship while he was working

for the league to move? How could he claim to care about the league and let that happen?

How could he allow one of the 30 NBA fan bases to be extorted? How is this OK?

more later

You can't ask these questions on ISH, RBP. These idiots will just respond with, "It's a business", or "David Stern doesn't have the power to stop a move, it's not his job". bleah bleah bleah

These guys don't understand what it's like to spend over a decade of your life following a team, and then having it taken away with nothing you can do about it.

They can't understand that kind of loyalty, or the betrayal that takes place when an owner moves a team.

I've said it before, the NBA can block this move if they really wanted to. The Supersonics are a registered trademark of the NBA, and the players are members of the NBA players association. Without those two things, the owners are the owners of nothing.

It sucks from the fans' perspective, and in a perfect world, they wouldn't leave. But the team was sold, a team that isn't owned by the fans, to people who paid for it and can do whatever they want to with it. Do I like that? No, but it doesn't change the fact that if Bennett wants to move the team, the only thing stopping him is a lease agreement. I understand the connection a fanbase has to a franchise, and I understand the feeling of community, and how the team represents the area, so when they win, the fans feel they won too. Comming from a Kings fan, where there are no other pro teams in Sac, I know this feeling better than most. However, fan feelings, history, and loyalty aren't deciding factors in Bennett's decision. Does that suck? Hell yes, that sucks balls. But it is what it is, and there's nothing people can do about it.

What amazes me, is reading that piece, that only TWO people showed up to protest the sale of the team from seattle based owners to OKC based owners. I guess writing an e-mail to an ESPN columnist was easier than showing up with a sign.

i think its absurd that a great city like seattle might lose a bball team while awful places like orlando and possibly oklahoma city ahve or might get teams. add dallas to that list. all i think of with dallas is jfk getting murdered. and oklahoma city you think timothy mcveigh. seattle is the type of city the nba should showcase, not abandon.

who cares. if the city doesn't want to fund a new building like other cities have too bad for Seattle

Bennet asked for a $500 million arena, 3 miles outside of the city, when KeyArena was built less than 13 years ago, and the city has offered a $200 million renovation deal if it was co-funded.

To put those numbers in perspective, the cost of Seattles 50,000+ seat baseball stadium with a retractable roof was less than $100 million. That Bennet demanded a half billion dollar arena miles from anywhere is beyond rediculous.

It'd be like if the owners of the Lakers demanded that the city of Los Angeles pay for a billion dollar arena in Ventura or they were going to take the team to Boise.

who cares. if the city doesn't want to fund a new building like other cities have too bad for Seattle

You don't think that this might set some sort of precedence where owners will expect the city to fund their investment? That would lead to cities essentially "renting" teams, they will skip town at the end of each arena lease unless a new one is funded. "Who cares"? Anyone with at least half a brain, that's who.